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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · bark · season · prune · track · bore · nail · bat

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bark — to shout
  6. track — to keep track
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a song
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. track — a path
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com